U.N. Suspects Ethnic Massacre in Ivory Coast

Posted on Apr 8, 2011

More than 100 people have been found dead in western parts of the Ivory Coast, victims of what investigators believe are ethnically motivated massacres. U.N. officials say the killings may have been carried out by Liberian mercenaries. —JCL

The Guardian:

UN investigators have found more than 100 bodies in Ivory Coast, victims of what seem to have been ethnically motivated massacres. Some appeared to have been burned alive and others were thrown into a well, said a spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights.

The killings occurred in three locations in western Ivory Coast and may have been carried out by Liberian mercenaries, according to the UN. The bodies were found on Thursday.

The discovery came as Alassane Ouattara, the internationally recognised president of Ivory Coast, said he would not try to capture Laurent Gbagbo, who has refused to leave power and is hiding in a bunker under his personal residence. Ouattara’s forces have blockaded the compounded.